Sabrina E. Des Rosiers

Substance use and sexual behavior among recent Hispanic immigrant adolescents: effects of parent-adolescent differential acculturation and communication.

OBJECTIVES To ascertain the effects of parent-adolescent acculturation gaps, perceived discrimination, and perceived negative context of reception on adolescent cigarette smoking, alcohol use, sexual activity, and sexual risk taking. We used an expanded, multidimensional model of acculturation. METHOD A sample of 302 recently immigrated parent-adolescent dyads (152 from Miami and 150 from Los Angeles) completed measures of acculturation (Hispanic and American practices and identifications, and individualist and collectivist values) and parent-adolescent communication. Adolescents completed measures of recent cigarette smoking, alcohol use, sexual behavior, and sexual risk taking. RESULTS Parent-adolescent gaps in American practices and ethnic identity, and perceptions of a negative context of reception, predicted compromised parent-adolescent communication. In Miami only, adolescent-reported communication negatively predicted odds of cigarette smoking, occasions of drunkenness, and number of sexual partners. Also in Miami only, parent-reported communication positively predicted these outcomes, as well as occasions of adolescent binge drinking, drunkenness, number of sexual partners, and odds of unprotected sex. The only significant findings in Los Angeles were protective effects of parent-reported communication on frequency of alcohol use and of binge drinking. Mediational effects emerged only in the Miami sample. CONCLUSIONS Effects of parent-adolescent acculturation gaps vary across Hispanic groups and receiving contexts. The especially strong parental control in many Mexican families may account for these differences. However, other important differences between Hispanic subgroups and communities of reception could also account for these differences. Prevention efforts might encourage Hispanic youth both to retain their culture of origin and to acquire American culture.

Beyond the ‘East-West’ Dichotomy: Global Variation in Cultural Models of Selfhood

Markus and Kitayamas (1991) theory of independent and interdependent self-construals had a major influence on social, personality, and developmental psychology by highlighting the role of culture in psychological processes. However, research has relied excessively on contrasts between North American and East Asian samples, and commonly used self-report measures of independence and interdependence frequently fail to show predicted cultural differences. We revisited the conceptualization and measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals in 2 large-scale multinational surveys, using improved methods for cross-cultural research. We developed (Study 1: N = 2924 students in 16 nations) and validated across cultures (Study 2: N = 7279 adults from 55 cultural groups in 33 nations) a new 7-dimensional model of self-reported ways of being independent or interdependent. Patterns of global variation support some of Markus and Kitayamas predictions, but a simple contrast between independence and interdependence does not adequately capture the diverse models of selfhood that prevail in different world regions. Cultural groups emphasize different ways of being both independent and interdependent, depending on individualism-collectivism, national socioeconomic development, and religious heritage. Our 7-dimensional model will allow future researchers to test more accurately the implications of cultural models of selfhood for psychological processes in diverse ecocultural contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record

Contextualism as an Important Facet of Individualism-Collectivism Personhood Beliefs Across 37 National Groups

Beliefs about personhood are understood to be a defining feature of individualism-collectivism (I-C), but they have been insufficiently explored, given the emphasis of research on values and self-construals. We propose the construct of contextualism, referring to beliefs about the importance of context in understanding people, as a facet of cultural collectivism. A brief measure was developed and refined across 19 nations (Study 1: N = 5,241), showing good psychometric properties for cross-cultural use and correlating well at the nation level with other supposed facets and indicators of I-C. In Study 2 (N = 8,652), nation-level contextualism predicted ingroup favoritism, corruption, and differential trust of ingroup and outgroup members, while controlling for other facets of I-C, across 35 nations. We conclude that contextualism is an important part of cultural collectivism. This highlights the importance of beliefs alongside values and self-representations and contributes to a wider understanding of cultural processes.

Perceived context of reception among recent hispanic immigrants: Conceptualization, instrument development, and preliminary validation

Context of reception has been discussed widely in the sociological and anthropological literature, but no measures of this construct exist. We designed a measure of perceived context of reception and provide initial support for the factorial validity, internal consistency reliability, and incremental and discriminant validity of scores generated by this measure. A sample of 302 recent-immigrant Hispanic parent-adolescent dyads from Miami and Los Angeles completed the new perceived context of reception measure, as well as measures of perceived discrimination; Hispanic/American cultural practices, values, and identifications; and depressive symptoms. In Phase 1, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses extracted a factor for negative perceived context of reception. A subscale corresponding to this factor was used in Phase 2; for parents and adolescents, negative perceived context of reception and perceived discrimination were differentially associated with acculturation-related variables-suggesting discriminant validity between perceived discrimination and negative perceived context of reception. For adolescents at both sites and for parents in Los Angeles only, the negative perceived context of reception dimensions were significantly associated with depressive symptoms 6 months later, over and above the contribution made by perceived discrimination--suggesting incremental validity. Results are discussed in terms of perceived context of reception as a new and emerging construct.

Depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors among Hispanic immigrant adolescents: examining longitudinal effects of cultural stress

This study examined longitudinal effects of cultural stress (a latent factor comprised of bicultural stress, ethnic discrimination, and negative context of reception) on depressive symptoms and a range of externalizing behaviors among recently (≤5 years in the U.S. at baseline) immigrated Hispanic adolescents. A sample of 302 adolescents (53% boys; mean age 14.51 years) completed baseline measures of perceived ethnic discrimination, bicultural stress, and perceived negative context of reception; and outcome measures of depressive symptoms, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, aggressive behavior, and rule-breaking behavior six months post-baseline. A path analysis indicated that higher cultural stress scores predicted higher levels of all outcomes. These effects were consistent across genders, but varied by study site. Specifically, higher cultural stress scores increased depressive symptoms among participants in Miami, but not in Los Angeles. Findings suggest that cultural stress is a clinically relevant predictor of depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors among Hispanic immigrant adolescents.

Longitudinal trajectories of bicultural identity integration in recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents: Links with mental health and family functioning

This study examined, in a sample of recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents in Miami and Los Angeles, the extent to which bicultural identity integration (BII; involving the ability to synthesise ones heritage and receiving cultural streams and to identify as a member of both cultures) is best understood as a developmental construct that changes over time or as an individual-difference construct that is largely stable over time. We were also interested in the extent to which these trajectories predicted mental health and family functioning. Recent-immigrant 9th graders (N = 302) were assessed 6 times from 9th to 12th grade. Latent class growth analyses using the first 5 timepoints identified 2 trajectory classes-one with lower BII scores over time and another with higher BII scores over time. Higher heritage and US identity at baseline predicted membership in the higher BII class. At the 6th study timepoint, lower BII adolescents reported significantly poorer self-esteem, optimism, prosocial behaviour and family relationships compared with their higher BII counterparts. These findings are discussed in terms of further research on the over-time trajectory of biculturalism, and on the need to develop interventions to promote BII as a way of facilitating well-being and positive family functioning.

Developmental Trajectories of Acculturation: Links With Family Functioning and Mental Health in Recent-Immigrant Hispanic Adolescents

The present study was designed to examine acculturative changes, and their effects on mental health and family functioning, in recent-immigrant Hispanic adolescents. A sample of 302 Hispanic adolescents was assessed five times over a 2½-year period. Participants completed measures of Hispanic and U.S. practices, collectivist and individualist values, and ethnic and U.S. identity at each time point. Baseline and Time 5 levels of mental health and family functioning were also assessed. Latent class growth analyses produced two-class solutions for practices, values, and identifications. Adolescents who increased over time in practices and values reported the most adaptive mental health and family functioning. Adolescents who did not change in any acculturation domain reported the least favorable mental health and family functioning.

A Cultural and Social Cognitive Model of Differences in Acculturation Orientations, Alcohol Expectancies, and Alcohol‐Related Risk Behaviors Among Hispanic College Students

OBJECTIVES The present study used a cultural and social cognitive conceptual framework to investigate whether alcohol expectancies and valuations would mediate the associations between specific acculturation orientations and alcohol-related risk behaviors. DESIGN The sample comprised 1,527 Hispanic students attending colleges and universities in diverse regions of the United States. Respondents completed self-report measures of Hispanic and American cultural practices; alcohol expectancies and valuations; and self-reported frequency of hazardous alcohol use, binge drinking, sexual activity under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of alcohol, and riding with a drunk driver. Latent class analysis was used to classify participants into acculturation orientations. RESULTS Results indicated that acculturation orientations were differentially associated with alcohol-related risk outcomes, with separated bicultural and low bicultural orientations inversely related to all of the alcohol-related risk behaviors except for riding with a drunk driver. Negative expectancy valuations were positively associated with endorsement of binge drinking and drunk driving and negative expectancies were negatively associated with binge drinking, drunk driving, and riding with a drunk driver. With the exception of sexual activity under the influence of alcohol, the associations between acculturation orientations and alcohol-related risk behaviors were partially mediated by positive alcohol expectancies. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provided relevant data that are informative for preventing alcohol and related risk behaviors among Hispanic college students.

Effects of Language of Assessment on the Measurement of Acculturation: Measurement Equivalence and Cultural Frame Switching

The present study used a randomized design, with fully bilingual Hispanic participants from the Miami area, to investigate 2 sets of research questions. First, we sought to ascertain the extent to which measures of acculturation (Hispanic and U.S. practices, values, and identifications) satisfied criteria for linguistic measurement equivalence. Second, we sought to examine whether cultural frame switching would emerge--that is, whether latent acculturation mean scores for U.S. acculturation would be higher among participants randomized to complete measures in English and whether latent acculturation mean scores for Hispanic acculturation would be higher among participants randomized to complete measures in Spanish. A sample of 722 Hispanic students from a Hispanic-serving university participated in the study. Participants were first asked to complete translation tasks to verify that they were fully bilingual. Based on ratings from 2 independent coders, 574 participants (79.5% of the sample) qualified as fully bilingual and were randomized to complete the acculturation measures in either English or Spanish. Theoretically relevant criterion measures--self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and personal identity--were also administered in the randomized language. Measurement equivalence analyses indicated that all of the acculturation measures--Hispanic and U.S. practices, values, and identifications-met criteria for configural, weak/metric, strong/scalar, and convergent validity equivalence. These findings indicate that data generated using acculturation measures can, at least under some conditions, be combined or compared across languages of administration. Few latent mean differences emerged. These results are discussed in terms of the measurement of acculturation in linguistically diverse populations.

Association of acculturation with drinking games among Hispanic college students.

Abstract Objective: This cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate which components of acculturation relate to drinking games participation among Hispanic college students. We also sought to examine whether the relationships between acculturation and drinking games would differ from the associations between acculturation and other alcohol-related outcomes. Method: A sample of 1,397 Hispanic students aged 18–25 (75% women; 77% US-born) from 30 US colleges and universities completed a confidential online survey. Results: Associations among acculturative processes, drinking games participation, general alcohol consumption, and negative drinking consequences differed across gender. Most significant findings emerged in the domain of cultural practices. For women, US cultural practices were associated with greater general alcohol consumption, drinking games frequency, and amount of alcohol consumed while gaming, whereas for men, US cultural practices were associated with general alcohol consumption and negative drinking consequences. Conclusions: Hispanic and US cultural practices, values, and identifications were differentially associated with drinking games participation, and these associations differed by gender. It is therefore essential for college student alcohol research to examine US culture acquisition and Hispanic culture retention separately and within the domains of cultural practices, values, and identifications.